Don't Fear Having Your Carry On Luggage Gate Checked

You're boarding your plane. It's chaos everywhere in front of you. Some of your fellow passengers are having trouble even locating where they should be, pushing back and forth until they spot their allocated seat number. Others are blocking the gangway by fussing over their bags, taking an age to retrieve those in-flight essentials. The more organized are stowing carry on bags and coats, before awkwardly lurching into their seats.

Eventually you make your way through the aeroplane to your seat, and frustratingly you notice that the overhead lockers are now full. The situation has been made even worse because the adjoining overhead locker is being used by the flight crew, so causing nearby lockers to be at bursting point. No matter where you look, there's no room for your carry on bag, and it's definitely too large to fit under the seat in front of you.

Finally you're rescued from your predicament by a friendly flight attendant, who says there's no alternative but to gate check your carry on bag. She offers to take it forward for you, and to pass the bag down to the baggage handlers so it can join the other hold luggage. You hand over your bag, pleased to be out of the annoying situation.... But yes, you've been GATE CHECKED!

As you settle into your seat, things start to dawn on you. Firstly your expensive digital camera was unprotected in the soft bag, so it's a worry how it will fare down in the hold. Secondly you forgot to retrieve that excellent novel before handing over the carry on bag, which is bad news since now time will absolutely crawl by. Lastly you realize that you'll now have to wait for your carry on bag in the luggage reclaim area on arrival. A real pity, because on this journey you had managed to make do with just your carry on bag, and had not needed to checked any other large travel luggage.

For your next trip, you determine on making some changes to avoid the inconvenience of gate-checking. Most obviously, you'll try to be somewhere near the head of the queue for boarding. Plus you'll replace your soft carry on bag for a proper wheeled carry on with a hard shell. You remember that there's a good one mentioned at Carry On Luggage Reviews.

After a very long flight, you reach your destination, eventually ending up waiting at the baggage carousel. Your bag is, of course, the last to appear through the push-flaps. You pluck the bag off the conveyor, and quickly check on your camera. Oh no... Your worst fears are confirmed, as there's a large dent in it. Now, you mutter to yourself, where's the baggage complaints desk?